A recent statement by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev indicates that Russia wants to influence the presidential campaign in Ukraine, said MP Andriy Parubiy, a member of the pro-presidential group For Ukraine of the Our Ukraine People's Self-Defense faction.

Medvedev, in an open letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko, said that he would delay sending an ambassador to Kyiv, and he indirectly accused the Ukrainian president of worsening Ukrainian-Russian relations during his [Yuschenko's] time in office.

"I believe that with this statement, Russia has actually started its own campaign in the presidential elections in Ukraine," MP Parubiy said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency in Kyiv on Tuesday.

According to him, Russia has always done and will do everything to bring a pro-Russian candidate to power in Ukraine.

Medvedev's statement marks beginning of a counter-propaganda campaign against the incumbent president Viktor Yuschenko, Parubiy said.

The MP said that there are hardly any grounds for such statements, as one can speak about anti-Ukrainian sentiments in Russia, rather than of the anti-Russian moods in Ukraine.

He added that there are numerous facts of Russia's intrusion into Ukraine's internal affairs, as well as their intentions to adjust Ukraine's foreign policies.

"In this case, Russia is just trying to influence Ukraine and make Ukraine again a country that is under the political influence of Russia," Parubiy said.